


Waterboy

by amy_lupin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bully Valiant, Bullying, Cheerleader Merlin, Crossdressing, First Kiss, M/M, Shy Arthur, set in the USA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-01 08:00:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10184606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amy_lupin/pseuds/amy_lupin
Summary: Arthur is the captain of the high-school football team and, thanks to him, most of his teammates are graduating not knowing what it feels like to lose a championship. At the celebrating party, though, one of his teammates decides to mockingly present him with the Water Boy.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I have a FASCINATION for Cheerleader!Merlin](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/272285) by medievaltwinks. 



> This fanfiction was inspired by [this gorgeous fanart](http://medievaltwinks.deviantart.com/art/I-have-a-FASCINATION-for-Cheerleader-Merlin-497689220), by **medievaltwinks**. There is already [a fanfiction](http://archiveofourown.org/works/154560) based on it (or maybe it's the other way around, I don't know for sure), but Matt and I began to talk about the art and... Well, this is the result (it's always Matt's fault, what can I do if he won't stop plotting and nearly forcing me to write it?). Please note that it's _only inspired_ by the art, so it's not one hundred percent faithful to it.
> 
> Thanks **Lexi** for the editing! It's so good to have you back!

**Waterboy**

Merlin knew he'd regret going to that party. First of all, he wasn't invited to it. Secondly, most part of the school bullies were to attend – or worse, they were honored guests, since they were part of the school's football team and the party was essentially to celebrate their victory in the inter-school championship. Thirdly, he should have guessed he'd be abandoned by Gwen at the very beginning of the party.

“Are you sure you don't mind?” Gwen asked, looking eager and afraid at the same time.

“Of course not,” Merlin feigned unconcern, shrugging. And then he leaned in to whisper into her ear. “Stop being silly, Gwen. Isn't he why you came here in the first place?” He motioned with his head towards Du Lac, the school jock Gwen had a major crush on since day one.

Lancelot Du Lac would be graduating in about a month and seemed to finally have noticed her existence. Merlin suspected he'd be asking her to the ball before night's end. Why else would he have invited her to this party?

“Yeah, but...” Gwen turned her head to Du Lac, who raised his eyebrows in expectancy. She smiled timidly, but then became serious again when she turned back to Merlin, whispering back. “I'm the one who insisted for you to come so I wouldn't be alone! I can't just abandon you like that–”

“Nonsense,” Merlin cut her off, rolling his eyes. “I'll be fine. Actually, I think I saw Freya somewhere near the punch,” he lied. Freya despised this kind of party and wouldn't be caught dead in one.

“Really?” Gwen looked hopeful after that. “Well, if you're sure. But let me know when you want to leave, okay?”

“Sure,” Merlin assured and smiled at her friend when she squeezed his hand finally allowing a hesitant smile to take over her features.

“Wish me luck!”

“By the looks of it, you won't need any,” Merlin said after another peek over her shoulder to the star-struck look on Du Lac's face.

Gwen disregarded his comment with an eye roll, but walked away, accepting Lancelot's outstretched hand and joining him to the improvised dance floor.

Merlin lingered by for some time, a forced smile frozen on his face, since Gwen wouldn't stop looking back at him to check if he was truly alright with it. When she finally focused her attention on Du Lac, Merlin turned his back on them and walked away.

He planned on going straight to the entrance hall and sneaking out. If only he remembered where the entrance hall was. This house was fucking huge! He had already walked across three different rooms and there was no sign of the fancy wooden entrance doors yet! He was slightly breathless when he dodged yet another couple snogging near a staircase and bumped into some kid's arm, spilling half of his drink.

“Hey, watch out, dumbass!”

“Sorry!” Merlin mumbled, stepping away as fast as he could without so much as daring to look at the boy's face.

He entered the first door he found and came to a halt as he spotted the rest of the football team gathered around a large round table, shouting encouragements while two of them chugged absurdly large cups of beer in what looked like a competition. Arthur Pendragon was one of them. Fortunately, he was too busy trying to finish his cup to notice Merlin frozen there gaping at some of the liquid dripping down the side of his neck.

“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” the others shouted increasingly louder until Pendragon chocked and lowered his cup, coughing and receiving a few strong claps on his back from his friends.

The other competitor, Gwaine Trevor, continued gulping until he drained the content of his cup, earning cheers from his mates.

The commotion caused Merlin to wake up from his stupor, turning around to leave the room, heart hammering in his chest. Alright, maybe not all jocks were that bad. Du Lac was pretty polite and kind to him. Trevor used to mock him, but in a friendly, non-humiliating way. Pendragon, on the other hand...

He wasn't exactly _mean_ to Merlin. Actually, Pendragon barely addressed him if he could help it, not even to thank him when Merlin handed him a bottle of cool mineral water during the breaks. But he was certainly an overbearing rich asshole – meaning, look at this fucking house! – and he did absolutely nothing to stop his teammates from ridiculing Merlin. And if someone could do something about it, that someone was Pendragon. For this reason, Merlin was determined to avoid each and every one of the players.

Merlin didn't get far, though, before bumping into someone.

“Sorry!” he said reflexively, but his heart skipped a beat as soon as he recognized the school uniform stretched on the large chest in front of him.

“Waterboy!” Terrified, Merlin recognized Valiant Pepper's voice before he got the chance to look up to the boy's face. “Fancy seeing you here!”

“Oh bugger,” Merlin mumbled under his breath and Valiant's smirk became nastier.

.M.

Arthur stepped away from Percy before his friend broke one of his ribs from clapping too hard on his back. “I'm fine, I'm fine,” he assured, raising his hands to the air.

Percy smirked and moved towards Gwaine, congratulating him on his victory with a firm forearm shake.

“It was fair competition,” Gwaine acknowledged, offering Arthur his hand and they shook each other’s forearms, a gesture which had become something like a brotherhood thing between them, “but of course, no one can beat me at this. Not even you, Princess.”

Arthur wouldn't miss high-school – actually, he couldn't wait to be gone –, but it'd be a shame to break away from some of his best friends. He opened his mouth to object to Gwaine’s statement when he heard a high-pitched voice which made his jaw set immediately.

“Well, he had to suck at something, right?” said Vivian Olafson, grabbing Arthur's bicep like she intended to never let go.

“Er,” Arthur said, feeling his face heating up instantly as he disentangled himself from her and then held the collar of his uniform away from his own skin, “excuse me. I’m drenched in beer. I think I'd better–”

“I don't mind,” Vivian assured him, wrapping herself around Arthur's arm again and – to his utter mortification – sniffing at his stinky t-shirt before winking at him. “I like it.”

Arthur had to turn his face away to avoid any kind of accidental bump when Elyan clapped him on the back, pushing him forward. “Atta boy!”

“Way to go, Princess!” Gwaine winked at him.

Arthur would kill them.

Luckily, at that very moment they heard the splash of something shattering to a million pieces and Arthur took his chance at Vivian’s temporary distraction, stepping away from her. “I'd better go check on it or my father'll have my behind,” he explained as he left.

Apparently, someone had managed to bring down the Music Room's chandelier, but Arthur doubted his father would give a shit about that. Actually, it was Uther Pendragon who had encouraged Arthur to throw a celebration party at the mansion, since he'd be spending the whole weekend out on a business trip. He always insisted that Arthur should act less like a nerd and more like the popular boy he actually was.

Morgana would probably be furious, though, since that was her favorite place in the whole mansion, but she'd be staying at Cambridge for the weekend and hopefully someone would take care of the shards before she got the chance to play the piano again.

Arthur shooed everyone out of the room and instructed them not to touch the food – now covered in shards of glass – and locked the heavy doors, so that no one could get hurt. When he walked by the staircase that led do the second floor – and to the safety and quiet of his own bedroom –, a group of girls probably though he was looking longingly at them, for they giggled and waved at him.

With an awkward smile, Arthur waved back and hurried to move past them. Determined to avoid Vivian at all costs, Arthur stomped in the middle of the crowd of both known and unknown people towards the kitchen. Before he got there, though, he heard someone calling over the loud music that came from the west wing.

“Hey, Captain!”

Arthur reacted automatically by turning towards the voice, before it kicked in whose voice it happened to be. He instantly regretted having stopped, at seeing Valiant approaching him with his trademark nasty snicker.

Valiant was an excellent player, but he was also hard to cope with. He had no team spirit whatsoever and the fact that he couldn't stand Arthur since the first day they met didn't make it any easier. Valiant didn't care to mask his disregard for the team's captain and resented the fact that Arthur was loved by the whole school. In fact, the boy was one of the reasons why Arthur wouldn't miss high-school.

“What is it, Valiant?” Arthur asked, crossing his arms over his chest and telling himself mentally that he wouldn't have to put up with the boy for much longer, now.

“I just wanted to pay one last tribute to our captain,” Valiant said, clapping to call attention from people around them. “Three years playing for the school team; two years as captain and throughout all this time we didn't lose a single championship! Of course we wouldn't have done it if not for our dedicated captain. So dedicated, actually, that he didn't even have the time to have fun, like the rest of us mortals do.”

As he spoke, the chattering around them died out and people started to come from other rooms to see what was going on.

“To be honest,” Valiant continued his speech, pretending to consider something for the first time, “in all these years, I can't remember having seen you with a girl, like, ever! Not even at the parties you cared to attend. And it wasn't for lack of candidates. Poor Vivian here is living proof of that, right Viv?”

Some people laughed at that and everybody turned their necks to a group of people that had just entered the room. Arthur did the same, finding a very confused Vivian looking around warily.

“What did you say, Peterson?” she asked.

“I was just recalling all the times you tried to get into our Captain's pants.” Valiant moved closer to Arthur, throwing an arm around his shoulders, loving every second of the attention he had brought to himself while Arthur felt tenser by the second, for the same reason. “Some people say you were willing to sleep with the coach, if that was what it'd take for you to become a cheerleader, just so you could get Pendragon's attention!”

The crowd cheered and Vivian looked shocked for a moment before giving him the finger. “Fuck you, Valiant.”

Arthur turned to his teammate with a deep frown. “Valiant,” he said warningly.

“What's going on here?” Leon asked when he and the other players closed in, drawn by the increasing noise of people around them.

Valiant ignored his colleague’s ask, though. “Well, regardless of how you actually became a cheerleader, Vivian, we know for a fact that your plan failed spectacularly, right? Or did Pendragon actually got the balls to invite you to the ball, tonight?” Valiant asked, to what Vivian crossed her arms, steaming, and Arthur felt his own face heating up with embarrassment. “That's what I thought. Also, that's why I thought maybe our captain preferred a different kind of attention and I figured I could give him a little help.”

“Valiant, what the hell?” Arthur protested, but then Valiant whistled, signaling for someone to approach.

“Bring our captain's present!”

There happened a small commotion near the guest's washroom, them, and the crowd moved to clear the passage to Valiant's gang, a bunch of troublemakers.

At first, Arthur though they were dragging a girl – one of Vivian's cheerleader friends –, but then his jaw dropped when he recognized Merlin – a sophomore boy in charge of keeping the school team hydrated by handing them water bottles during the matches and practices –, dressed in a cheerleader uniform.

“Let go of me!” the boy struggled to break free of the bulky guys, although to no avail. He was dragged to the edge of the circle of people formed around Arthur and Valiant, and then one of Valiant's friends pushed him towards the center...

Straight into Arthur's arms. Arthur held him by the shoulders in a reflexive reaction before they collided. Merlin stood paralyzed for a moment as they stared at each other, his mouth hanging open for a beat. Next, his eyes squinted and he stepped back, shaking Arthur’s hands away and spinning around himself, probably searching for an opening in the crowd through which he could escape.

“What the fuck is this?” it was Gwaine who asked the question, for Arthur had lost his ability to speak the moment Merlin turned his back on him.

His skirt was pretty short, fluttering around as he moved and displaying more of his thighs – white, hairy, masculine thighs – as it did. However, that was not what robbed Arthur of his voice, but the fact that someone had tied up the boy’s wrists at his back in a tight knot of rope, which explained why he hadn’t been able to steady himself earlier.

“Hey, that’s _my uniform_!” Vivian shouted, outraged. And, in fact, there was the number ten printed on the back of the top. It also happened to be Arthur’s number, which Vivian had specifically asked on her custom-made uniform.

“Looks better on him!” someone shouted back, causing a bust of laughter and catcalls on their audience.

Arthur felt something brushing at the back of his knees, but didn’t get the time to react before Valiant pushed him down. He fell sitting on a chair and, next thing, Merlin was stumbling forward towards him. Once again, Arthur reacted instinctively by supporting him and somehow ended up with a lapful of Merlin. The boy was straddling his thighs, now; the uniform top was twisted and stretched thin over his shoulders, since he was much broader than Vivian; his chest heaved rapidly as he breathed in shallow intakes. His outfit also left a considerate portion of his stomach exposed, showing a path of dark hair from his navel to the waistband of the pleated skirt.

“Do you like what you see, Captain?” Valiant asked and only then did Arthur realized he’d been staring.

He let go of Merlin’s arms closing his mouth with a snap and looked up, meeting the boy’s startled look. Merlin averted his eyes, his face flushed with humiliation as people cackled.

“Are you touched in the head?” Gwaine said and Arthur felt a wave of gratitude towards his friend when he stepped inside the circle to confront Valiant.

“Well, I’m just doing them both a favor, really,” Valiant shrugged. “Obviously, when Emrys here asked coach to be of help for the team in some way, given that he couldn’t play to save his own life, he was hoping to get some better position than Water Boy. Very well, then, he just got promoted to cheerleader! I’m sure Vivian won’t mind donating her old uniform to him, since she’s graduating next month.”

“I can’t believe it!” Gwaine said after the laughter that followed Valiant’s speech. He addressed their audience, then. “What’s so funny in here? This is not even a bad joke, this is _absurd_! Valiant _tied Merlin up_! There’s no way you can’t see how twisted it actually _is_!”

“Oh, he’s totally getting off onit,” said someone.

“Yeah, look,” some other guy said, “he’s not even trying to get up!”

As if spurred, Merlin tensed his legs to get up, but ended up losing his feet and falling forward. Arthur grunted at having his nose smashed against Merlin’s chest – “Kiss the Captain! Kiss! Kiss!” chanted the crowd – at the same time the boy crashed down heavily on top of his legs again. Arthur grabbed Merlin's arms to try and steady him, only to see him shaking away from his touch as he twisted around to curse at a guy who had moved to poke him like someone riling an animal.

“Why don't you shove that finger up your ass, you motherfucker!” Merlin’s deep and loud voice shocked Arthur more than his harsh words.

From the corner of his eye, Arthur saw when Percy and Leon positioned themselves between the aggressor and Merlin like a human shield. The next instant, Elyan was helping Merlin getting up and Arthur breathed out, relieved; the boy’s bones had been sharply and painfully prodding him on the thigh as he writhed.

“Hey, are you alright?” Elyan asked, looking Merlin in the eyes in an attempt to calm him down, but Merlin stumbled backwards, away from his touch. “Easy, easy!”

“–the fuck were you thinking, Valiant?” Gwaine was still arguing with Valiant while Percy moved closer to the both of them, ready to separate them at the slightest hint of thinks getting physical.

“I think we’d better take Merlin away from here,” Leon suggested when Arthur got on his feet, feeling a bit overwhelmed still. The crowd was beginning to close in on them, moods increasingly tenser.

“I’m on it,” Arthur stated and stepped closer to the boy.

Merlin was still frustrating Elyan’s attempts to untie his wrists. “Stay the fuck away from me!” the boy shouted. “Where the hell is Gwen? GWEN!”

After a brief assessing look around, Arthur determinedly took another step closer, invading Merlin’s personal space. “I’m sorry about this,” he said and watched as Merlin’s eyes widened. Before he could utter any protests, Arthur threw him over his shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the back of his thighs and started to make his way through the crowd towards the staircase. The fact that Merlin kept thrashing and flailing his legs turned out to be of some help, as it urged people to clear the passage for them, but Arthur couldn’t help noticing the way some of them cheered and catcalled while he carried a reluctant Merlin upstairs.

“–you arrogant asshole! Put me down RIGHT NOW, or else I’ll–”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Shut _up_ , already _,_ ” he said under his breath when they reached his bedroom.

The boy took a surprised intake of breath after that, but soon resumed kicking around. “Oh, you turnip-headed… clotpole!”

“Will you stop thrashing around?” Arthur grabbed Merlin's legs one-handedly, his fingers digging in his flesh to keep him in place as he fished his key from his jeans pocket. “You’re heavier than you look.”

“Why don’t you PUT ME DOWN THEN, YOU–”

Arthur turned the key and pushed the door open, putting Merlin down with a grunt. “Here you go,” he said, turning around to close the door behind him, rubbing at his own neck, where Merlin had hit him with his elbow. “Now, if you just shut it for a moment, I’ll–” he trailed off as he turned back.

Merlin had backed off, never taking his eyes off him with a mixture of mistrust and hatred, until he bumped his back into the opposite wall. Arthur breathed out, slumping a bit.

Apparently, now Merlin was scared of him. Cheers.

“Look,” Arthur started, spreading his hands out in front of his body while taking a couple of tentative steps forward, “I’ll just–”

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Merlin cried out, recoiling further against the wall.

Arthur froze, this time letting his annoyance show. “Alright, fine!” he said. “You can stay tied up, if that’s what you want.”

Arthur strode towards his wardrobe, stripping his t-shirt while at it.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU’RE DOING?” Merlin shrieked.

“I’m changing my t-shirt, okay?” Arthur said, without turning to face him. “Honestly… I reek of beer.” He threw his stinky t-shirt on the floor and grabbed a clean one, spinning around as he dressed up.

Merlin was frowning, his breathing ragged, his narrowed eyes swiftly traveling up and down Arthur’s body in a measuring look. Arthur did the same. Merlin’s top had slipped up as he struggled and was now displaying most part of his torso. He had also lost his shoes on their way to the bedroom and now had only his socks on.

Arthur closed the wardrobe door behind him slowly, careful not to make any sudden move. “I know you don’t trust me right now…” Arthur tried again, but the boy simply snorted at that.

Arthur sighed.

“I shouldn’t have carried you up here against your will like I did, but things were starting to get very ugly downstairs and I had to take you away as fast as I could. I’m sorry. I really am sorry about what Valiant did to you. He’s a fucking dickhead and I regret the very moment I invited him to my house–” Arthur stopped for a moment at seeing Merlin looking down to his hands – which Arthur had closed in fists instinctively –, and forced his hands to relax again.

Merlin’s eyes fixed back on Arthur’s face, this time with a tinge of curiosity in them. Arthur took a deep breath, resisting his urges to move closer to him.

“Listen… I gotta go check on my friends downstairs, but I don’t want to leave you here alone and tied up, you see? Can I get this rope off of you?”

Merlin considered the question for a few seconds before averting his eyes, nodding shortly.

“Okay.” Arthur released the air from his lungs, relieved. He walked slowly towards Merlin, who tuned his side to the wall so that Arthur could reach his hands. “I’m gonna touch you now,” Arthur warned before trying to undo the knot as gently as he could.

Merlin rested his temple on the wall as he breathed out, seeming to finally drop his defenses. Arthur tried not to stare at the great expanse of skin showing at the the boy’s back or breath in the scent of fresh sweat that came off of him, but it was hard not to notice. The knot showed up to be more tough than it first appeared and Arthur cursed under his breath when Merlin flinched at the drag of the rope over his bruised wrists.

“Damnit.” Arthur looked around, trying to remember if there was some scissor or knife somewhere in his room, but even if there were, maybe holding a potential gun around Merlin wasn’t the best course of action at the moment. Acting on impulse, Arthur got no his knees behind the boy.

“W-What are you doing?” Merlin stuttered, moving to turn around, but Arthur held him in place.

“Just one moment,” he said and stuck his thumbs between the tight rope and the skin on Merlin’s wrist for protection, before bringing his mouth down to bite at one of the extremities of the knot. He tugged hard now that he didn’t have to worry about the rope scratching him. Merlin let out a cry of surprise and took one step forward not to lose his feet, his skirt fluttering with the sudden movement when Arthur pulled and again, until the knot gave in.

“Done,” Arthur stated as he finished removing the rope with slightly shaking hands. He got back to his feet then, stepping back while Merlin turned to face him, stroking his tender wrists as soon as he got free.

“Thanks,” Merlin mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on Arthur’s feet. He pulled the top of the uniform down, then, to cover as much skin as the clothe would allow before crossing his arms over his naked belly.

Arthur cleared his throat and run his hand through his scalp as he took another step back. “Well,” he cleared his throat again, “I’ll go check things out downstairs. I think you’d better stay here for now. At least until things cool down.” He turned his back on the boy and strode to the door. “Can I get you something?” Arthur asked before stepping out of the room.

Merlin shook his head, but then seemed to change his mind. “My clothes” he said, still averting his eyes. “And my phone. They must be in the washroom.”

“Sure,” Arthur nodded and drummed his fingers on the door post. “You can lock the door, if you want to. I’ll knock when I come back.”

Arthur left without waiting for his reply, closing the door behind him and supporting his weight on it with a sigh, his heart hammering in his chest. For all the times he fantasized about Merlin in his room, he never dreamed it could have happened under such circumstances as these.

Arthur checked both sides of the corridor to make sure there was no one around before retracing his steps back to the party, collecting Merlin’s shoes as he passed by them and securing them at a corner, next to a decorative vase. The clatter intensified as he approached the staircase and Arthur soon realized the commotion had relocated to the entrance hall, as his friends tried to kick the troublemakers out.

As soon as he was spotted at the top of the stairs, however, one of Valiant’s friends noticed Arthur had changed his t-shirt. “This one didn’t waste any time, did he?” the boy shouted, calling the others attention to Arthur’s arrival.

“Way to go!” said another one.

“Hey, Cap,” Arthur heard Valiant’s mocking voice as he climbed up a few steps towards him, “you might as well take some pictures for us to show at the prom, how about that? Best moments of the–” he was stopped from finishing his sentence when Arthur’s fist collided with his jawbone.

“Ouch!” it was Arthur who cried out, shaking his aching fist. The pain was totally worth it, though, as he watched Valiant being carried out by his friends while holding his own face with a pained expression.

“Alright, everybody out, now!” Leon said, bringing his hands around his mouth to be heard above the chatter. “Party’s over! Everybody OUT!”

Leon’s words were followed by booing and protesting, but people started to head for the door when the music came to a sudden end and Arthur finally willed himself to relax a bit. What would he do without his friends?

“You should put some ice on it,” Percy suggested as he moved closer, pointing to Arthur’s hand.

“I’m fine,” Arthur straightened his back, opening and closing his fingers a couple of times before nodding curtly. “Thank you.”

“How’s Merlin doing?” Gwaine asked, positioning himself at Arthur’s other side.

“He’s scared,” Arthur admitted, feeling the anger take over him once again.

“That son of a bitch needs to be taught a lesson,” Gwaine said. “And he won’t see it coming, I promise.”

“Let us deal with this,” Percy said, referring to the mess of people moving to get out, leaving cups and bottles on their wake.

“Let us know if you guys need something,” Gwaine squeezed Arthur's forearm before walking away. They were both gone before Arthur could say anymore.

With a last look at the washroom's direction – apparently, someone had thrown up at the entrance, but that didn’t stop people from lining up to use it –, Arthur turned on his heels and walked back to his bedroom, collecting Merlin’s shoes on his way. He knocked on the door before trying the door handle, but found it unlocked.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t–” Arthur started to say, but cut himself off at seeing Merlin hurriedly wiping the tear tracks off his face. “Shit.”

Merlin was sitting on the floor, leaning his back on the edge of the bed, his bent legs drawn close to his chest. He avoided Arthur’s eyes, sniffing and cursing as he rushed to get up. Arthur looked away at having a glimpse of the boy’s underwear as he moved to his feet.

“Did you get my clothes?” Merlin asked, lifting his chin as if daring Arthur to comment on his tears.

“I didn’t, I’m sorry,” Arthur admitted, putting Merlin’s shoes down on the floor and tucking his hands inside his jeans pockets, hesitant to move further into the room. “You can wear mine, if you’d like.”

Merlin’s lips quivered and he pressed them together, nodding once. He resisted for a few instants as his eyes filled up with tears again, but then he let out a sob, hiding his face behind his hands, slumping on Arthur’s bed, his skirt fluttering as he sat down.

“Oh my God, I’m so st-tupid!” Merlin’s shoulders shook as he sobbed.

Eyes widened, Arthur looked around as if hoping to find the directions for how to act on that situation somewhere in his room. His eyes fixed on the mini bar under the TV and he mechanically walked towards it, to buy himself some time. He pulled a handkerchief from his dresser drawer and put a couple of ice cubes in it, wrapping them with the tissue. He pressed them lightly on his throbbing knuckles, then.

“Shit,” Arthur repeated after a particularly loud sob and hesitated for a moment before coming closer to Merlin. He sat down by his side, keeping a safe distance between them.

His back stiff with edginess, Arthur focused on the burning of the ice on his skin until it became numb. That calmed him down a bit and he exhaled slowly, trying to be rational.

“You’re not stupid,” he said, at last, trying to show his conviction through those words. Actually, he thought Merlin had been quite brave, in the light of everything that had happened, but he’d really have rather not needing to deal with anyone’s cry at the moment.

“I’ve never been so humiliated in my ent-tire life!” Merlin furiously wiped the tears from his eyes.

Arthur had absolutely no idea of how to deal with all this. Having grown up without a mother and with Morgana as a sister, he wasn’t used to see people crying, let alone learned how to comfort them. He wondered if he should put his hand on Merlin’s back, but what should he do next? Make soothing circles or clap his back? Should he say reassuring words? Which words were reassuring, exactly?

Instead of trying and figuring out, though, he said the first thing that came to his mind: “Well, I don’t know if it makes any difference, but… I think you’re pretty gorgeous in this outfit.”

He had planned to sound playful, but found himself regretting his words when Merlin turned to face him with a startled face. Thoroughly embarrassed now, Arthur looked down at his own lap, moving the ice away from his now pretty numb fingers.

“Er...” he trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

Merlin looked down too, staring at his own hands, and everything Arthur could think about was that at least the shock had made him stop crying.

Merlin started to chuckle, then. “That’s a good one,” he said, causing the mattress to shake with his laughing and sniffing, while he rubbed his face with his top to dry the tears.

Arthur forced a tense smile, even though he hadn’t exactly been joking when he’d said that. He probably should go fetch a change of clothes to Merlin, but was reluctant to do so.

“How’s it going downstairs?” Merlin asked after a brief silence.

“Chaotic,” Arthur answered, grateful for the change of topic.

“Did I hurt you?” Merlin sounded worried, pointing at Arthur’s bruised knuckles.

“Oh, no, you didn’t.” Arthur resumed pressing the ice on his hand, still reluctant to face him. “I… I punched someone.”

“Valiant?” Merlin guessed after a quick pause and Arthur nodded, feeling some sort of satisfaction at noticing the awe with which the boy had said that. “I can’t believe it. Man, I would’ve given anything to see his face. By the state of your hand, it shouldn’t have been pretty. How did he reacted? Did he fight back?”

Arthur shook his head, lost for words before Merlin’s searching look. “The guys carried him out. They’re taking care of everything, sending everybody home.”

“But…” Merlin frowned. “What about the party?”

Arthur shrugged. “It's over now.”

“Oh, my God! Gwen!” Merlin cried out suddenly, shaking the mattress again with his surprised jump. “I should warn her! Have you seen Du Lac somewhere? She was with him.”

“I haven’t seen them, but I can text Lance, if you want me to,” Arthur offered, fishing his phone from his jeans pocket without waiting for an answer. “I’ll ask him to tell your friend you’re with me.”

“Thanks.” Merlin’s shoulders relaxed again.

Arthur punched the message quickly, trying not to focus on the fact that their thighs were brushing now. “Done,” Arthur tossed the phone on the bed, by his side.

They kept silent for a bit and Arthur was gathering his courage to get up and find him some clothes when Merlin turned to face him again. “You know, I hadn’t given it much thought before, but… I haven’t seen you with any girls before. Besides Vivian Olafson, of course, but… I though you guys were… You know…”

“Yeah…” Arthur swallowed. “I guess the whole school probably thought that.”

“You weren’t serious before, were you?” Merlin bumped his shoulder and Arthur looked up to meet his curious expression with a silent question. “About thinking I’m…” he pointed at his own outfit as if the gesture finished his sentence on itself.

“Um…” Arthur looked down to his own hands, taking the opportunity to place the ice on the floor not to risk a burn.

“Pendragon?” Merlin called softly.

“Arthur,” he said, still avoiding his eyes. “Call me Arthur.”

“Arthur,” Merlin called again.

When Arthur finally looked up, his heart skipped a beat at noticing how close Merlin actually was. The corner of Merlin’s lips pulled slightly up before he leaned in and Arthur met him halfway through in an impulsive movement.

Their lips brushed lightly – Merlin’s were softer and smoother then Arthur could ever had imagined them to be –, but Merlin moved back too soon and Arthur did the same, albeit reluctantly.

Merlin flashed a lopsided smile and bit his lower lip, to what Arthur looked away again, feeling awkward. He was sure Merlin could hear his heart hammering and that made him even more conscious of his own nerves.

Merlin started to chuckle, then, hiding his mouth behind one hand.

Arthur fidgeted, bothered by his unexpected reaction. “What?” he asked, wondering if he’d done something wrong.

“Nothing!” Merlin struggled to keep a straight face. “I’m just having trouble believing all this. I think I’m in shock or something. I mean, tonight’s been totally weird and… and… unexpected.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Arthur admitted, feeling somewhat relieved.

“I mean, I never thought I’d ever kiss a jock. Let alone the school team’s captain!”

“Well,” Arthur shrugged, “I was wondering if I’d ever kiss anyone, so…”

“Wait, what?” Merlin’s eyes nearly popped out. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Arthur scratched between his shoulder blades, shaking his head.

“You’ve never kissed anyone before?” Merlin asked, baffled. “Mate, you’re the most popular guy of the entire school! I mean, even I, the biggest nerd of the school, have already kissed someone and yet _you_ …”

Those words caused Arthur’s mood to turn sour, as he tried not to picture Merlin kissing another guy and failed miserably. He could bet it was that freckled, foul-mouthed kid Merlin used to walk around with. William what’s-his-face.

“Hey,” Merlin touched his arm lightly, “it’s okay. It’s not something to be ashamed of. Look on the bright side, now you can say you kissed a cheerleader.”

That made Arthur snort, bumping his shoulder on Merlin’s. “Shut up, Merlin.”

“Make me,” Merlin teased with a cheeky smile.

Arthur merely stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was having him on. When Merlin’s eyes lowered to his lips, however, Arthur leaned in before he could second guess it.

This time, their mouths fit properly together and Arthur felt a light pressure as Merlin gently sucked on his lower lip. He followed Merlin’s example and sighed when Merlin’s hands framed his face, keeping him still as Merlin tilted his face just a little bit to the side, keeping their noses out of the way.

Arthur's fingers itched to touch him back and he brought his hands to Merlin’s nape, stroking the short hair there and pulling him closer still, encouraging him to keep going. Merlin let out a pleased sound from deep within his throat and Arthur gasped when the tip of Merlin’s tongue touched his lip. Arthur did the same and noticed the salty taste of his skin there.

Merlin tipped his head some more and Arthur sunk the pad of his fingers at the back of Merlin's neck when his tongue slipped in, wet, slightly rough to the touch and tasting of _Merlin_. Arthur tried to come closer to him, but there was no space left between them.

As if reading his mind, Merlin leaned forward, forcing Arthur to lean back slowly until he was lying on the bed, with Merlin hovering over him. “This okay?” Merlin broke the kiss to check.

Arthur nodded vigorously. “Great,” he said sliding up on the mattress and pulling the boy down for another kiss.

Their tongues tentatively slid against each other and Merlin lowered himself slowly until he was lying on top of Arthur. “Tell me if you want me to stop,” Merlin said, trailing kisses over Arthur’s jaw.

“Please don’t,” Arthur panted, overwhelmed by the boy’s weight over his body.

Merlin resumed snogging him, his thumbs caressing the sides of Arthur's face, ears, jaw, his fingers running through Arthur's scalp… Arthur never thought he could feel so much pleasure with such soft touches. When Merlin abandoned his mouth once again to kiss his pulse point, Arthur’s hip jerked up as if they had a mind of their own.

Merlin chuckled, propping himself up on his elbows to look at him with a crocked smile. “I’ll take that as an encouragement.”

“I’m sorry,” Arthur asked self-consciously.

“Don’t be.” Merlin leaned more of his weight over him, fitting their bodies together and this time there was no mistaking Merlin’s hard-on poking him on the thigh. Arthur’s cock jerked appreciatively and suddenly it felt like all his blood decided to move towards his groin.

Merlin kissed him again, scraping his teeth over Arthur’s lower lip. Arthur allowed his hands to glide down Merlin's nape to explore the expanse of his shoulders, arms and back, taking his time at the exposed skin by the end of his spine before running his hands back to his nape.

Merlin hummed into the kiss, detaching their lips for a moment. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before? I mean, it’s not like you’d have any reason to lie to me about that–”

Arthur had been more focused on the movement of Merlin’s reddened, puffy lips then on the words formed by them, so he simply pulled him back down. Merlin glided his hands along Arthur’s arms and Arthur braced himself for the moment he’d pull away, but the boy’s hands continued their path down until they reached Arthur’s waist. Arthur gasped at feeling the pad of Merlin’s fingers sneaking below his t-shirt, dragging it up as he explored Arthur’s abs.

“Alright?” Merlin searched for his eyes, sounding concerned. “Am I going too fast?”

“Merlin,” Arthur said meaningfully, arching one eyebrow.

“Shut up,” Merlin guessed, amused. He resumed the snogging and stroking over Arthur's stomach and thrust his hip down once, gasping as he did it.

Encouraged by Merlin’s advances, Arthur slid his hands down Merlin’s top, caressing his back and sides, near his armpits. His skin wasn’t as smooth as Arthur thought it’d be, with a few bulges he guessed to be small freckles and moles. Arthur made sure to explore them gently with the pad of his fingers, never faltering with the kissing, nibbling and sensual slither of their tongues.

“God,” Arthur gasped when Merlin’s finger touched one of his nipples, his hip jerking up again at the same time he sank his clawing fingers into Merlin’s skin.

“Ouch!” Merlin flinched away from his nails.

“Sorry!” Arthur said, apologetic, moving his hands soothingly.

Merlin relaxed against him once again. “It’s okay,” he assured, rubbing his thumb over Arthur’s – now hardened – nipple again.

Arthur bit his lower lip, forcing the rest of his body to keep still, now. With a smug smile on his face, Merlin kissed his way across Arthur’s jaw and throat, alternating between rubbing and pinching his nipple. Arthur's breathing became shallow and he stared at the ceiling without really seeing it. Merlin sucked the skin over his collarbone and Arthur tried not to picture him sucking his nipple, instead.

“Can I take your t-shirt off?” Merlin asked.

Arthur nodded his agreement eagerly. “Yes, please.”

Merlin straddled Arthur’s thighs and Arthur sat up to help him remove his t-shirt. When he looked at Merlin, though, he felt dizzy – probably due to lack of oxygen to his brain. Somehow, he had temporarily forgotten Merlin’s outfit and the mere sight of the pleated skirt, which left the most part of his thighs uncovered, was nearly shocking.

“My God, Arthur…”

At hearing those words, Arthur focused on the boy’s face again. Merlin had an awestruck expression on his face as he grabbed Arthur’s pecs, grunting. The sound traveled straight to Arthur’s penis, which felt less comfortable by the minute, trapped inside his pants.

Of all the times Arthur fantasized about Merlin in this very bed, he never pictured something like this. In his fantasies, it was Arthur who threw Merlin on the mattress; it was Arthur who kissed Merlin senseless; it was Arthur who worshiped Merlin’s body, not the other way around.

Still, Arthur had to admit he was enjoying letting Merlin take control – and the boy was clearly loving every second of it, judging by the way he snogged Arthur, now swinging his hips in a slow, delicious pace. And however much Arthur was eager to see Merlin naked, he was also reluctant to see him out of that uniform. Especially when Merlin looked so gorgeous displaying Arthur’s number on his top, like that.

Fortunately, Arthur didn’t have to choose, since Merlin was too busy trailing kisses across Arthur’s chest. When he wrapped his lips over one of his sensitive nipples, Arthur squirmed, curling his toes, throwing his head back and bringing Merlin closer. God, he was so turned on. He grunted when Merlin’s belly touched the front of his jeans, sending another jolt of pleasure through his body. In the meantime, Merlin played with the waistband of Arthur’s pants, making Arthur curse under his breath. He wanted to ask Merlin to go on with it and touch him already, but, at the same time, he didn’t want it to end so soon.

Arthur slid his hands up Merlin’s thighs, keeping a firm hold on them and encouraging him to use more of his hips. Merlin complied with a moan, joining their mouths together while deliberately grinding at him. Arthur moaned back when Merlin popped the button of his jeans open, slowly unzipping it.

“Tell me to stop,” Merlin half asked, half dared him, but Arthur kept kissing him, his hands continuing their way under Merlin’s skirt, his thumbs stroking the tense muscles of his thighs as he moved. Merlin shoved his hand inside Arthur’s briefs and held his cock with a sure grip, pulling it out. Arthur’s fingers curled over the firm flesh of Merlin’s ass.

They weren’t kissing anymore, but simply gasping over each other’s mouth, breathing the same air, their tongues meeting briefly time and again. Merlin stopped for a moment to stick his free hand under the skirt and soon he was jerking them both off at once in an increasingly fast pace. Arthur chanced looking down, having a glimpse of Merlin’s penis under the folds of the clothe, a mere blur between the back-and-forth of Merlin's hand, and suddenly it was too much. Arthur cried out as he came, spilling his seed over his own stomach. Merlin panted a couple of times more and he was coming too, pouring over the hollow over Arthur’s hipbone with a whine.

As they caught their breaths, Arthur feasted on the sight of that messy, flushed, sated Merlin. He was going to wank over that image for months to come, for sure.

Arthur knew he would end up distancing himself from his friends over the next years, since only Leon was joining him at Harvard. Gwaine and Percy were going to Yale; Lance to Stanford and Elyan would be staying another ear to finish high school. Bur Arthur also knew they’d still be best friends, even from afar.

It was Merlin’s parting he feared the most.

They weren’t friends and Arthur was fully aware it was his own fault. After all, Merlin was the friendliest person he’d ever known and he had earned his friends trust from the beginning of school term. Arthur had to concede Merlin had earned his heart from day one, though. However, Arthur had been so terrified about his own feeling towards the boy that he had pushed him away, fearing what he might do in case he let Merlin get through his carefully constructed walls. Yet, somehow Merlin had gotten through them anyway without him even realizing it.

Merlin moved off him with a grunt, flopping onto the bed by Arthur’s side. “Your phone’s ringing,” he informed, having felt – and listened – to the device’s insistent buzzing through the mattress.

“I know.” Arthur ignored the call and turned his face to the side, finding Merlin straightening his own clothes and wiping his hand covered in cum on his shirt. “Ngh” Arthur grunted, holding the boy’s forearm still, careful not touch his bruised wrists. “There are some tissues over the nightstand.”

Merlin prodded himself on his fours to reach for the tissues, offering Arthur the tempting view of his behind. Arthur swallowed, tucking himself back in his pants before Merlin turned around with some of said tissues. Instead of taking them, though, Arthur held Merlin’s hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing his wrist tenderly. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“It wasn’t your doing,” Merlin smiled, starting to clean the mess over Arthur’s stomach.

“But I allowed it to happen.” Arthur prodded his upper half up on his elbows to watch while Merlin worked on getting him clean. “Valiant’s been bullying you since forever. I should’ve done something to stop him before it came to this–”

“Arthur,” Merlin silenced him with a soft kiss on the lips. “Don’t worry about that now. Let’s forget what happened earlier, okay? After all, _this_ ,” he showed the dirty tissue with a naughty expression, “wouldn’t have happened if not for what Valiant did.”

Merlin turned to dump the tissue on the rubbish bin by the bed and Arthur took the opportunity to get up, flipping them around. Merlin landed on the mattress with a surprised yelp and Arthur leaned over him, kissing him leisurely. Merlin hummed his contentment, relaxing under Arthur’s weight.

“I know I’ll probably regret ever asking you this, but,” Arthur said after some time, nuzzling at Merlin’s jaw and neck, “how many people have you kissed like this?”

“Just one,” Merlin sounded amused and Arthur frowned, stopping to glare warily at him. “Honestly!” Merlin insisted, arranging a lock of Arthur’s hair back into place. “It was this guy I met at a party, last year.”

Arthur frowned even more, internally arguing with himself about the wisdom of asking more about it. What if they were still going out? Arthur couldn’t stop thinking he could have prevented it from happening if only he had taken a stand before.

“But he’s from Canada, so I doubt I’ll get to meet him again, anytime soon,” Merlin kept going, seeming to read his thoughts. “And it wasn’t exactly _like this_. It was just some harmless snogging,” Merlin shrugged. “It wasn’t as if we had any privacy at the time, with everybody partying around us.”

Arthur didn’t felt that much reassured by the way Merlin phrased that, implying it’d have happened much more than ‘some harmless snogging’ if only they had had the opportunity. And then Arthur began to question if what had just happened between them was only an ‘in the spur-of-the moment’ thing for Merlin, which added a few more creases to his already quite creased forehead.

“Hey,” Merlin said, touching the side of his face with a soft smile on his face. “Come here.”

Arthur consented to be pulled into another kiss and, slowly, the tension left him – or, better yet, turned into another kind of tension entirely; one that could be easily dispersed. Merlin moaned around Arthur’s tongue and spread his legs apart for Arthur to settle between them, fitting their hips together.

And that’s when someone knocked on the door, opening it next. “Arthur, we just finished–Jesus Christ!” Leon shouted, turning his face away from them as they hurriedly sat on the edge of the bed, fixing their clothes. “I’m sorry! I–I–I didn’t think–”

“What’s going on?” someone asked and Percy showed up next, carrying some clothes with him. “Ah. Well, that explains why he didn’t answer Lance’s call. Merlin, we found your clothes, if you still want them…”

Arthur could almost feel the heat coming out of Merlin’s face as he attempted to cover himself with his hands crossed over his lap.

“ _Leon, will you please tell the Princess it wasn’t me who ruined the drawing room’s couch?”_ they heard Gwaine’s voice coming from afar. “ _How did they do it, anyway? Looks like it was eaten away by acid!_ ”

“We’d better go before Gwaine decides to come check on Merlin himself,” Percy said, leaving Merlin’s clothes on a chair near the door and puling an embarrassed Leon outside. “Oh, Lance asked me to tell you both he’s taking Elyan's little sister home and we’re on our way as well, so you can resume your… anatomy studying as you wish.”

“Thanks, guys!” Arthur shouted when the door was already closing.

“ _Did I hear_ _that_ _right?_ _Did_ _you mention studying?_ ” they heard Gwaine’s voice coming from the hallway. “ _Is the Princess studying at this hour on a Friday night?_ ”

“ _Arthur’s assisting Merlin with his Literature assignments,”_ Percy quickly came to their rescue. “ _You know just how big of a nerd he actually is. Specially when it comes to poetry. Now let’s go before you finish all this beer.”_

“ _Who, in good conscience, would let all that beer go to waste_ –”

Arthur glanced back at Merlin with an arched brow when he noticed he’d been watched closely. “What?”

“Aren’t you worried about what your friends might think of this?” Merlin asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.

Arthur shrugged. “Not truly, no. They’re good friends.”

“Yeah, but… The whole school saw you carrying me to your room. People are gonna talk, you know… The whole school’ll probably gossip about it for the rest of the school year–”

“They’re gonna talk anyway, so we better earn it,” Arthur shrugged. “Besides, I’ll be graduating in a few weeks.”

Merlin’s eyebrows disappeared under his fridge, but he didn’t make any comment on that. He looked down, instead, making patterns on the bedcover with the pad of his index finger. They were sitting side by side now, but they weren’t touching.

“Do you know where you’re going next year yet?” Merlin asked.

“Harvard.” Arthur watched as Merlin’s shoulders slumped. “But I intend to come home every weekend.”

Merlin snorted. “You say that now. But it won't take long and you'll be loathing to miss your mate’s parties. I know how it works.”

Arthur reached for Merlin’s hand, entwining their fingers and stroking the back of his palm with his thumb. “Not if I have a better reason to come,” he said.

Merlin sneaked a furtive glance at him before looking down again, biting his lip to cover his smile.

“Will you go to the ball with me?” Arthur asked on impulse.

“What?” Merlin nearly snapped his neck turning to face him, his mouth slightly ajar with astonishment.

Arthur forced Merlin to lay down on his back again, laying on top of him and nuzzling at his neck. “Go to the ball with me,” he whispered, lapping at the skin right under his ear.

“Ngh!” Merlin grunted, gasping when Arthur sucked at the spot, feeling the boy's sped-up pulse with the tip of his nose.

“Say yes.” Arthur sucked again.

“Yes!”

“Good. Now, how about I help you out of this uniform?”

“God, yes!”

  
  


 


End file.
